Not long after the "catch" Russian Internet users starting uploading their own catches of Pike which were apparently lighter than Putin's but were way bigger. They speculate that Putin had weights inside the fish to make him look like the rugged outdoorsman he wants to portray.

Didn't you know that whenever you're President and about to do something extremely cool like catching an impossibly huge fish, finding some archaeological treasure, or even giving thumbs up at a particular protest you have to make sure there is always some sort of footage so everyone knows it is completely genuine?